State-Suspended Port Angeles Counselor Arrested in Oregon, also Faces Washington Bench Warrant
A day after we reported the state suspension of a Port Angeles counselor’s credential, newly obtained records reveal she is facing additional legal hurdles in two states.
Jessica Constant, whose agency-affiliated counselor credential suspension took effect in April following a Washington State Department of Health hearing, was recently cited in Wasco County, Oregon, for third-degree theft.
Simultaneously, she is the subject of an active bench warrant in Clallam County after prosecutors pursued her for unpaid restitution stemming from a string of 2020 felony convictions.
Over the weekend, Constant was booked into the Northern Oregon Regional Correctional Facility.
According to a District Attorney’s Information filed Monday, June 15, Constant is accused of unlawfully taking assorted merchandise on Saturday, June 13.
While third-degree theft can be pursued as a criminal charge, the Wasco County District Attorney’s Office elected to prosecute the offense as a Class A violation.
These out-of-state legal troubles arrive as Constant faces scrutiny back in Washington over unpaid restitution.
On April 3, the Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed a Petition for Order to Show Cause, alleging Constant failed to comply with the restitution terms of her February 2020 sentence for multiple felonies, which included residential burglary, first-degree trafficking in stolen property, possession of a stolen vehicle, and second-degree possessing stolen property.
In a memorandum to the court, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Tracey L. Lassus noted that if the court finds Constant’s failure to pay constitutes willful noncompliance—meaning she had the current ability to pay but refused to do so—she could face up to 60 days of confinement per violation or other community-based sanctions.
On April 6, Clallam County Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Stanley ordered Constant to appear on April 24 to explain the noncompliance.
The order warned that a failure to appear could result in the court issuing a bench warrant for her apprehension and confinement.
A bench warrant was subsequently issued for Constant after she failed to appear for the April proceedings.
These compounding legal issues coincide with disciplinary action taken against Constant by the state Department of Health.
As we reported on Monday, an administrative law judge indefinitely suspended Constant’s counseling credential after she failed to attend a March 11 hearing regarding her non-compliance with a strict four-year probationary agreement.
The suspension officially took effect on April 6—the same day her Clallam County court order was signed.
Constant will remain unable to practice as an agency-affiliated counselor in Washington until she successfully comes into compliance with the terms of her state probation.